1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to interface elements oriented and/or shaped in accordance with a natural motion of a user, such as conforming to an arc made by the hand when the elbow is pivoted and, more particularly, to a system that positions interface elements at a position determined by the hand position of the user, allowing the interface to pop-up where it is comfortable to use and lays out the interface elements according to a natural arc that is also easy to use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pen or stylus based computers, such as tablet personal computers (PCs) and personal digital assistants (PDAs), are becoming popular. These computers typically allow the user to interact with the computer through a graphical user interface using a stylus or pen (or possibly even a finger). A keyboard and a mouse are typically not available. Pen-based type interaction can be limiting as compared to other types of interaction, such as using the mouse or the keyboard, alone or in combination. What is needed are improvements to the interaction capability of pen-based computers.
Operating pen-based user interfaces in the tablet-PC form factor can be extremely awkward and uncomfortable. Repetitive actions are common and operating the user interface along the borders of the screen is problematic. First, the digitizer behaves poorly around the borders of the screen and thus it is hard to control the cursor using the stylus. Secondly, positioning the hand along the digitizer edge can be uncomfortable and unstable to operate with precision. What is needed are solutions that employ a design that moves away from the digitizer edge and adheres to comfortable human motions.
Typical interface elements, such as a slider or a menu, are rectilinearly oriented, such as oriented horizontally and/or vertically relative to the display. Using such interface elements with a pen typically requires a compound movement by the user that may include rotating at the shoulder to essentially slide the elbow, pivoting the elbow during the sliding motion and rotating the wrist at the same time. Such compound movements are more difficult than simple movements, such as pivoting at the elbow, and can cause fatigue in the user when receptively done. What is needed is an interface element that conforms to more natural simple motions by the user.